Book excerpt: The narrator and his best friend are born on the same day in the same neighborhood. Their early life conditions and upbringing seem almost identical. They run in the same circles, attend the same schools, and are basically nurtured the same values. Yet, their choices and their responses to what life throws at them end up drastically different. When power over their ancient and diverse land is usurped by forces bent on imposing an uncompromising version of religious and cultural absolutism, the people find themselves faced with unpalatable choices: stay quiet and suffer the oppression, fight an unequal battle, or head for the exit door leaving behind everything they know and love. In this sweeping philosophic work that touches on issues of religion, displacement, politics, migration, culture, and belonging, the reader is gradually immersed in the sometimes conscious yet often unconscious struggle of the main characters to come to terms with the greatest unknown of all-the meaning of life. Sifting through the wreckage of the times of separation, the reader will discover, in this heartbreaking but inspirational work, that pure, enduring love might just be the only thing in life that is not a lie.